Tit For Tat

Marin and Silje are toddlers all of a sudden. Not just babies crawling or walking around, getting into and onto things. Now they're playing with each other and with Ailey, understanding us when we talk, having fun giggling and being silly, giving each other kisses and hugs ... stealing lovies, teasing and running away, pulling hair, screaming at each other. Yes, I have two 1-year-olds running around acting like terrible 2-year-olds. Only they can't baby-swear at each other just yet. Well, I take that back, Silje's "Anniiiiiiiiiie!" is pretty close to swearing when she's mad.

The other day Marin and Silje each learned their favorite torture method for the other one. Marin spent the day stealing Silje's lovey Annie and running away. When I would tell her to give it back, she would walk up to Silje, hold it out toward her, then smile, pull it back and run the other way. Inevitably, whether Silje had tossed Annie aside for something else or not, she would run after Marin or look imploringly at me for help yelling "Anniiiiiiiie!"

Silje's form of torture is hair pulling. Marin has a lot of hair. Silje will grab Marin's hair and hold her down, smiling and waiting for me to pry her hand loose. She'll get Marin cornered in the living room or when they've both been put in a crib together, grab her hair and grin like the Cheshire cat.

Luckily, in both these cases, they haven't really learned to fight back yet. That's coming, I'm sure, but for now they just rely on me or Andy to save them. Seriously, why doesn't anyone make black-and-white striped shirts for Moms?!

(Silje is just nicely patting Marin's head here. Usually Silje's fist is in a death grip and Marin is crying. Silje was "playing" gentle here. How nice.)

I'm Dancin'!

A few things make me wanna dance. A good beat. Watching Silje boogy to the music (she's quite groovy!). Reading the sports page. Yep, I was groovin' a little tonight as I read the Sunday Sports page. (The one that's been sitting on the counter for, what, three days now.) I was groovin' and whoopin' a little a few days ago too when I heard Griffey was coming back to town. Yes, I know, this is a family blog. One that updates you all on the growing kids. But it's my outlet too, so here it is:

"Junior's back in town! Wahoooooooooooooo!"

Ah hem. It was a sad day when he left the Mariners ten years ago, but I had no idea I'd be this excited to see him come back. I am. (I have to say I always knew he'd come back.) I was at one of the games he played here as a Reds outfielder a couple/few years ago. He homered in the Mariner's ballpark and got a standing ovation. He's always been loved here. (Unlike his former steroid-sucking teammate who gets booed every time he's here. Still.)

Anyway, I'll be in that ballpark this season watching him play as a Mariner again. I don't care if he swings and misses, so long as he swings that sweet swing. It's time for Seattle baseball again!

"Annie!"

I remember very distinctly Ailey's first word. It wasn't Mama or Papa, or even "no". It was "pump". We were at my grandma's lake cabin where water is pumped into the house from the lake. The pump is just outside the door, and whenever someone turns on a faucet or flushes the toilet the pump comes on. And it's loud. It didn't scare Ailey, but it definitely caught her attention for a while until she got used to it. So Ailey's first word was "pump".

Silje has started talking. I know that in all the development books "they" say that kids start talking around age 1. I'm not sure I believe that's the average - it seems early. But Silje must have been reading that particular chapter because she started talking right around her birthday. Her first word (or words in this case) was "thank you". No, seriously. She had started signing it when I said it, then one day I heard "da-doo" as she put her hand up to her mouth. I didn't record it, didn't even tell anyone because I was sure even Andy would think I was crazy. She did it again, however, and Andy finally heard it and agreed that she was indeed saying "thank you".

The next word was "up". It was almost a two sylable word "u-pa". Gotta pronunciate, you know. "Cracker" came next, or "acka", then "Annie". Annie is her beloved lovey. Marin's is Lizzy. Annie is "vanilla" colored ("Silje Vanilje" - Norwegian anyone?), Lizzy is pink. They know which one belongs to whom.

When Silje started saying "Annie" we thought it was pretty cute - "Silje, where's Annie?" and she'd yell "Anniiiiiiiie!" However, it only took a day or two for "Annie" to become her favorite word for a lot of things. Sometimes it's a substitute for "Mama" or "Papa" when she sees us or wants our attention, but mostly it means "I want that" or "she took it from me" or "give it back". It's generally what she yells when she can't reach something or she's not getting her way. Still, it's cute. We're just working on narrowing down the meaning of her favorite word.

A video of Silje and Annie:

Sunny Day! Keepin' the Clouds Away!

Is that sunlight coming through those trees?! Ailey and I actually went outside during the babies' naptime today. We haven't done that in a long time. We've been working through all the indoor projects like painting, making cards, playing board games, baking, (sometimes doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen...), etc. Today Ailey wanted to "make a carrot". Strange request, I know. She has been playing with Rudy Carrot from a Mr. Potato Head set the past few days, so of course, carrots are on the mind. The sun was shining and it wasn't freezing outside, so we decided to draw a carrot with orange chalk on the patio out back. Yay for Ailey suggesting we get some fresh air!

We swept the patio of pine-needles and dead leaves, then got the sidewalk chalk out of the shed where all the fun sunny-day stuff is stored. I always end up doing the drawing - "Draw a carrot, Mom. Now a stem on it. Let's make some balloons now. How about a heart...." All while Ailey makes her colorful rainbow by the steps.

Once the chalk had run it's course we decided to raid the shed for more sunny day stuff. Out came the wagon so that Ailey could fill it with branches and "fetch-sticks". (No, she doesn't need a dog.) Here she's saying she's going "searching for sticks".

We got to check out the neighbor's new fence while outside. We've been watching the backyard clean-up and fence project through the back window (aka the girls have been stuck to the back window by their own slobber). They've enjoyed the wood chipper, the chain saw, the digging, the swearing ... well, I think I'm the only one who understood that actually. Now the fence is in the way and they can't see where all the noise is coming from. I'm not complaining - the neighbor's probably-30-year-old, dilapidated, holey fence will not be missed!

Their fence meets ours....

The sun today brought just a little bit of warmth, just enough to make me excited for spring. I raked some leaves out of the flower bed just in case the buds want to start their way up sometime soon (hmm, I feel a little guilty calling the weed-infested, mildewy square of dirt by the back fence a "flower bed", but there are tulip bulbs planted under there). While raking I found myself humming the Sesame Street song: Sun-ny day! Keepin' the ... cloooouuuds a-waaaaaay! Bring on the sunshine! (No worries, no delusions here. I know it will be raining and cold again within the week.)

A Cozy Valentine's Day

We spent this past weekend at a friend's "cabin" (in quotes because she says it's not technically a cabin) up near Mount St. Helens. Amy couldn't have made it any easier on us to travel with our three kids than she did. I think we packed less for two days than we sometimes do for a day trip! No cribs to pack, no boosters, no stroller, little food to bring. It was fabulous. Looking at the trunk of the car before heading out made me think all the way up there "What are we forgetting?!"

It was really cold up there, cold enough that there was snow mixed in with the rain. Andy and Ailey played outside with Amy's husband and 2-year-old son and came in with red noses and fingers to be warmed by the wood stove. Ah, I love a good, cozy fire! Their dog had a cozy bed of his own close to the fire. He was such a good dog. Very tolerant, as Amy put it. And poor Basil had to deal with two babies who acted like they had never seen a dog before. (Well, ok, they probably haven't seen a dog up close.)

The best way I can come up with to describe it is that Marin and Silje were two little moths drawn to the flame. They couldn't get enough of him, but they were still wary and even scared of him. Inch toward him, step back a little, inch forward, side-step away.... It was quite entertaining to watch the battle going on in their little heads. They would smile and walk toward him, then yell and cry, then laugh, but with a worried look on their faces. I think Marin even started howling at him. Silje couldn't take her eyes off his tail. "It would be so fun to shake! But it's attached to this big dog. But it would be so fun to grab and pull! But then he might look at me! What do I do?!" It's a good thing Ailey pet him nicely without yelling at him! There are some pictures below of the dance Marin and Silje did when ever Basil was in the room.

It was an over-all cozy weekend with good food, good company and good entertainment. It turns out I did forget to pack something though. Something kind of important. Nevermind that we remembered all the kids' comforts, I forgot my contact solution and glasses. After an unsuccessful trip to the all-night gas station, my contacts sat in make-shift solution all night and burned my eyes when I tried to put them back in the next day. So I walked around all day Sunday, and literally around the neighborhood pushing a stroller, and rode home that night in near blindness. On the plus side, with nothing to look at, I slept for about an hour on the way home. It's a good thing Andy is good at staying awake while driving at night, because he had 4 sleepers to keep him company on the way home!

On our walk:Marin howling at Basil:

"Oooh, I'm so brave!"

"It's WAGGING!"

"Must ... touch ... it...."

"Good dog, Basil."

Romance on a Shoestring

I had a book called Romance on a Shoestring when I was younger (hmm ... feelin' old now). It had ideas for dates, specifically in and around Seattle, for those on a tight budget. Things like a walk in the park and a sandwich picnic from a little deli by the water. I liked the ideas it had, but also how it helped one think of other low-cost, romantic dates. It aided Andy and I on our date-night tonight (even though I hardly ever read it and passed it on to the nearest thrift shop long ago).

My parents offered to stay with the kids this evening so Andy and I could go out. Funny I didn't even think of it until my mom said "Ailey, tell your parents Happy Valentine's Day" that this was supposed to be our romantic Valentine night out, Valentine's Day being tomorrow. Aahh, the mind takes a funny turn when you have kids.... Anyway, we went to dinner at the Olive Garden - yum. Then as we were planning to leave I looked at the time and said "It's only 8:30, we can't go home yet 'cause Ailey will still be awake. So now what do we do?" Lame, I know. I admit that I was longingly thinking of the comfy couch at home, my warm, fuzzy socks and quilt, and what might be waiting for us on TiVo. (My evening energy level will rise again sometime, right? Won't it? Alright, just lie to me.)

Neither Andy or I wanted to hit a bar and pay for two $8 drinks just to pass the time. We brainstormed parks we could walk around on a dark, cold night. Uh, no. The mall? Huh uh. Take a ferry ride? Bingo. Andy was joking when he suggested it, but just like he was joking when he said we should move to Norway for six months, I pounced on the idea. $4 each to hop the ferry and take a 20 minute ride across the water. Another half hour's time and we'd be back at our car and on the way home. Not a bad idea, huh? We wandered the ferry both ways, checked out the lights of Mukilteo, Edmonds and Seattle. We talked, walked, and talked. A great date. And half the cost of the drinks at the noisy, distracting bar. Romance on a shoestring.

A Princess and a Police Officer

On the way home from preschool a while back Ailey announced that she knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. That week they had a police officer and a fireman in to talk to the kids. This was the police officer day. She had come bursting out of the classroom with her Officer Ailey shield on, a badge in her hands, and recited the day's lesson: "When you're in trouble you call 9-1-1!" In the car she announced "I know what I want to be when I grow up!" Not having heard these words from her yet in her short life I smiled at the possibility of what was coming. "I'm going to be a police officer." "Oh, really--" "And", she finished, "a princess!"

Aahh, there it was! Just what every parent waits for - the answer to what is going on in that little head! Ailey continued to explain that police officers help people and catch bad guys ... but they don't pick up skunks. Um, ok. I can only imagine the question-and-answer forum that had produced that topic with the visiting officer. And as for the princess part? Well, you know, police officers help people and catch the bad guys, and the princess gets to dance and smile and be nice to everyone. There just couldn't be a better double-career!

A Year of Silje

And here's Silje's year in pictures. Her life started three long (and now seemingly irrelevant) hours after Marin's. She may have had a rough first few days, but she caught up to Marin very quickly. She also lived her first couple months in a whisper, but has made up for it considerably. While Marin has the stronger vocal cords, Silje just works hers harder! Marin is more subtle, Silje much more transparent (read: already well versed in tantrums). And while Marin became a walker in a 15 minute period of time (see post from 1/8/09), Silje has slowly - over about a week - come to walk more than she crawls. There's a fun video of it at the end, though it's a bit outdated now (from Jan. 28th). Enjoy!

Kiss Good-bye...

A Year of Marin

It's amazing just to think that a year has gone by in respect to such an important part of one's life as the birth of a child, but even more so to see it in pictures. As in so much of nature so many changes happen in a relatively short amount of time, making it seem like a lifetime from birth to first birthday. I don't look back on pictures very often, so when I started looking at pictures for this I was in a bit of shock to see the transformation Marin and Silje have made in a year. Here are some highlights from Marin's first year. I don't think they need captions. The transformation speaks for itself! Silje's post will come soon. Enjoy.

36

Happy Birthday, no, Super Bowl, no, Birthday to ME! Yes, I got to turn 36 (otherwise known as entering my upper 30s) right along-side the Super Bowl today. Not my choice for a celebration, but I can't complain too much as I've had two birthday parties already ... intentionally planned for non-football days. Today I had a spread of good food to eat from. There were scrumptious brownies for dessert. Ailey has been yelling "Happy Birthday, Mom!" at me all day - gotta love that! Bruce Springsteen serenaded me for 12 minutes. There was almost constant cheering in the background for a few hours, for me no doubt (I ignored the booing and referee heckling).

Before the football started, Andy had a gift and a mocha waiting for me when Ailey and I got home from church. Does anyone else remember the 1938 Micky Mouse cartoon called "Mickey's Trailer"? I don't know if I saw it just once or a bunch of times, but it stuck in my memory as a good one and I've had a watch out for it for a long time. That's what Andy got me, a set of 27 original Mickey Mouse cartoons - classic Disney. I am going to enjoy watching them many times over.

So it's been a good birthday all around. The football team I was supposed to be rooting for lost - I think they were the ones wearing red? - but that obviously doesn't matter. Here's to another good year of family, friends, fun times ... and the beginning of football next fall leading to yet another Super Bowl, er, birthday next February!